2 Chronicles 29

1 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became the king [of Judah]. He ruled from Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of [a man whose name was] Zechariah.

Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old; and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah.

2 Hezekiah did things that Yahweh considered to be right, like his ancestor King David had done.

And he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

3 During March of the first year that Hezekiah was ruling Judah, he unlocked the doors of the temple, and his workers repaired them.

He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.

4 Then he gathered the priests and other descendants of Levi in the area on the east side of the temple,

And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east;

5 and he said to them, “You descendants of Levi, listen to me! Consecrate yourselves. And then consecrate the temple of Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors [worshiped/belonged to]. Remove from the temple all the things that are not pleasing to God.

and said unto them: 'Hear me, ye Levites: now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

6 Our ancestors disobeyed God; they did many things that he considered to be evil, things that were not pleasing to him. They abandoned this place where Yahweh lives, and they have turned away from him.

For our fathers have acted treacherously, and done that which was evil in the sight of the LORD our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.

7 They locked the doors of the temple and extinguished the lamps. They did not burn any incense, and they did not offer any sacrifices that were to be completely burned [on the altar].

Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt-offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.

8 Therefore, Yahweh has become very angry with us people of Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, and he has caused other people to become frightened and horrified [when they hear what Yahweh did to punish us]. And they ridicule us. You know this very well.

Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He hath delivered them to be a horror, an astonishment, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

9 That is why our fathers have been killed in battles, and our sons and daughters and our wives have been captured and taken [to other countries].

For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

10 But now I intend to make an agreement with Yahweh, our God, in order that he will no longer be angry with us.

Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, that His fierce anger may turn away from us.

11 [You who are like] my sons, do not waste any time. [Do immediately what Yahweh wants you to do.] Yahweh has chosen you to stand in his presence and offer sacrifices and burn incense.”

My sons, be not now negligent; for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before Him, to minister unto Him, and that ye should be His ministers, and offer unto Him.'

12 Then these descendants of Levi started to work [in the temple]: From the descendants of Kohath there were Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah. From the descendants of Merari there were Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel. From the descendants of Gershon there were Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah.

Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah;

13 From the descendants of Elizaphan there were Shimri and Jeiel. From the descendants of Asaph there were Zechariah and Mattaniah.

and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14 From the descendants of Heman there were Jehiel and Shimei. From the descendants of Jeduthun there were Shemaiah and Uzziel.

and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 When those men had gathered their fellow descendants of Levi and had consecrated themselves, they entered the temple in order to consecrate it. That was what the king had commanded them to do, and they were also obeying what Yahweh had commanded.

And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.

16 The priests entered the temple to consecrate it. They brought out into the courtyard of the temple everything that they had found in the temple that was not pleasing to Yahweh. Then the descendants of Levi took those things down to the Kidron Valley [and burned them there].

And the priests went in unto the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.

17 The priests and other descendants of Levi started this work on the first day of March and finished purifying the courtyard [of the temple] on the eighth day of that month, and they finished purifying the temple one week later.

Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD; and they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

18 Then they went to King Hezekiah and reported, “We have purified all parts of the temple, and the altar where sacrifices are completely burned, and all the items used at the altar, the table on which the priests place the sacred bread, and the things [used at that table].

Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within the palace, and said: 'We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, even the altar of burnt-offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the table of showbread, with all the vessels thereof.

19 While Ahaz was our king, he disobeyed what Yahweh had commanded, and he removed from the temple many things [that should be there], but now we have brought them back and placed them in front of the sacred altar.”

Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he acted treacherously, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.'

20 Early the next morning, King Hezekiah gathered together the city officials, and they went to the [courtyard of the] temple.

Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

21 They took with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs, and seven male goats to be an offering in order that Yahweh would forgive the sins of all the people in the kingdom of Judah, and in order to purify the temple. The king commanded that the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, should offer those animals to be sacrificed to Yahweh on the altar.

And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats, for a sin-offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

22 So first the priests slaughtered those bulls, and took their blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar. Then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.

So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and dashed it against the altar; and they killed the rams, and dashed the blood against the altar; they killed also the lambs, and dashed the blood against the altar.

23 The goats that were slaughtered to be an offering in order that Yahweh would forgive the sins of the people were brought to the king and the others who were there. Then the king and those who were present laid their hands on those goats.

And they brought near the he-goats for the sin-offering before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands upon them;

24 Then the priests slaughtered those goats and splashed their blood on the altar in order that Yahweh would forgive the sins that all the Israeli people had committed. The priests did that because the king had commanded that offerings that would be completely burned [on the altar] and other sacrifices should be made for all the people of Israel.

and the priests killed them, and they made a sin-offering with their blood upon the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded that the burnt-offering and the sin-offering should be made for all Israel.

25 The king then told the descendants of Levi to stand in the temple with their cymbals and harps and lyres, obeying what David and his prophets Gad and Nathan had commanded. Those were things that Yahweh had told his prophets that the descendants of Levi should do.

And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was of the LORD by His prophets.

26 So the descendants of Levi [went and] stood in the temple, ready to play the musical instruments that King David had given to them. And the priests were ready to blow their trumpets.

And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah told some of the priests to burn the animals that would be sacrificed on the altar. When they started to burn the animals, the people started to sing to [praise] Yahweh, while the other descendants of Levi were playing their instruments.

And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar. And when the burnt-offering began, the song of the LORD began also, and the trumpets, together with the instruments of David king of Israel.

28 All the people who were there bowed to worship Yahweh, while the singers sang and the trumpeters blew their trumpets. They continued to do this until they had finished slaughtering all the animals that would be completely burned.

And all the congregation prostrated themselves, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt-offering was finished.

29 When they finished making those offerings, the king and all those who were there knelt down and worshiped Yahweh.

And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and prostrated themselves.

30 Then King Hezekiah and his officials commanded the descendants of Levi to praise Yahweh, singing the songs [composed/written] by David and Asaph the prophet. So they sang songs joyfully and bowed their heads to worship.

Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.

31 Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to Yahweh. So come close to the temple and bring animals to be sacrificed and other offerings to thank [Yahweh for what he has done for you].” And those who wanted to bring animals to be completely burned [on the altar] brought them.

Then Hezekiah answered and said: 'Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the LORD.' And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt-offerings.

32 Altogether they brought 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 male lambs to be completely burned on the altar.

And the number of the burnt-offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt-offering to the LORD.

33 The other animals that they brought were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep and goats that were set apart to be sacrifices.

And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.

34 But there were not enough priests to remove the skins from the animals that would be completely burned [on the altar]. So their fellow descendants of Levi helped them until that work was finished, and until other priests had purified/consecrated themselves to do that work. It was necessary for them to do that because many of the priests had not yet performed the rituals to consecrate themselves for that work, like the descendants of Levi had done.

But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt-offerings; wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.

35 In addition to the all the offerings that were completely burned [on the altar], the priests also burned the fat of the other animals that were sacrificed to maintain good fellowship with Yahweh, and the usual wine offerings. So the worship at the temple began again.

And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and the drink-offerings for every burnt-offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was firmly established.

36 And Hezekiah and all the other people of Judah celebrated, because God had enabled them to do all those things very quickly.

And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had prepared for the people; for the thing was done suddenly.